Introduction to Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Although it may seem unlikely to some, rainwater is now seen by many people as being a viable source of water for human consumption.

Indeed, with demand for suitable and usable water increasing all the time, rainwater harvesting is now widely regarded as being a very practical and efficient solution.

After all, there are some parts of the world where rainwater is far more readily available than supplied water. To be sure, there are millions of people who do not have access to water from a water company yet manage just fine by using the free water which falls from the sky.

Of course, this environmentally aware concept does beg a rather obvious question to us here in Britain:

How Safe is Rainwater to Use in the UK?

Whilst rainwater contains nutrients that can be beneficial for gardening and irrigation, and is free of chemicals that might affect plant growth or damage the Earth’s surface; rudimentary rainwater harvesting systems in the UK are not instantly beneficial to humans.

This is because these rainwater systems typically involve gathering water from the roofs of buildings where various pollutants, such as dust and excretions from birds, is commonplace. This means that the water is often compromised before it gets to the system’s collection point or storage tank.

Obviously, these elements can be harmful to the human body when ingested; therefore, it is necessary for environmentally aware residents in the UK to have more comprehensive rainwater harvesting systems.

How Do Comprehensive Rainwater Harvesting Systems Work?

A typical rainwater harvesting system uses rainwater pipes to convey water from the roof, fascias and soffits of a building; a storage tank to collect and store the water, and a filtering and distributing system to get the purified water to the point where it is readily needed. In general, a pumping machine will be incorporated into the system if the storage and filter needs to be located underground.

What are the Benefits?

Aside from the obvious environmental benefits, rainwater harvesting systems can also provide residents with a number of other advantages.

Perhaps the most significant of these is that having a simple yet effective automatic supply of harvested rainwater can help homeowners to reduce their domestic water consumption by up to 50 per cent.

Naturally, this can help households to achieve very significant savings indeed (of course, this is something which many more people are now having to consider with the cost of mains water steadily increasing all the time).

In addition, continuity of supply is something which cannot always be guaranteed in some areas of the UK. So, as well as helping homeowners to make considerable savings on their living costs; collecting rainwater that falls on the roof can also help households to stay on top of their supply issues.

Without doubt, high-quality rainwater harvesting systems really can help homeowners to be more environmentally aware and reduce their living costs.